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China Responds to Trump’s Provocations by Flying Nuclear Bomber Over South China Sea

“Donald Trump is still more than a month away from assuming the Oval Office, but he’s already managed to inflame diplomatic tensions with the world’s second-greatest power.

First, the president-elect broke with nearly four decades of precedent by accepting a phone call from the president of Taiwan. Since 1979, a cornerstone of U.S.-Sino relations has been America’s acceptance of the “One China Policy” — a doctrine that prohibits the recognition of Taiwan as an independent state. By directly communicating with (the pro-independence) president of the island, Trump signaled his disrespect for that policy.

Which is a big deal. Preventing Taiwan from achieving internationally recognized independence is one of the top priorities of Chinese foreign policy — one that its military is prepared to go to war over.

Following Trump’s call, China decided to clarify that last point, by flying a nuclear-capable bomber over its disputed islands in the South China Sea — while also preparing to ship new surface-to-air missiles to those islands, according to U.S. officials who spoke with Fox News.”